NEW YORK — A 22-0 first-quarter run gave the Columbia women's basketball team the lift it needed to defeat Harvard, 75-65, Friday night in Ivy League action at Levien Gymnasium.

Harvard (10-8, 3-2 Ivy) scored on the opening possession but Columbia (6-12, 2-3 Ivy) took over from there. The Lions held the Crimson 0-for-20 from the field over the ensuing 11:32 to build a 20-point lead. First-year Madison Hardy's 3-pointer in the final minute of the quarter capped the run as the Lions took a 22-2 lead into the second quarter.

Harvard finally scored at the 8:08 mark of the second and Columbia went shot-for-shot with the Crimson over the remainder of the half. The Lions led by as many as 23 when sophomore Riley Casey made the score 35-12 off one of her five 3-pointers with just under five minutes left until halftime. Casey finished the night with a game-high 23 points.

Harvard chipped away to make it a 15-point game at the half before whittling the lead to single digits for the first time at the 2:50 mark of the third quarter. Columbia answered with nine of the final 11 points to enter the fourth quarter leading by 16.

The Crimson made one last run, scoring 12 unanswered over a span of 4:30 in the final period to get within six, 60-54. Junior Janiya Clemmons stepped up for the Lions, connecting on a jumper to stop the bleeding on her way to career-highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds. Columbia went 12-for-12 from the free throw line over the final 1:30 to put the game away.

"We had a great first quarter, one of the best first quarters we've obviously ever had," Columbia head coach Megan Griffith stated. "We were locked in defensively and we were playing free and fast. For us, the one thing we need to get better at and improve upon is making sure we weather the storm a little bit better. We need to stay as aggressive as we were at the start of the game. I'm really proud of our young team for pulling this out and making some huge free throws down the stretch."

Clemmons was the run stopper in the second half, helping Columbia answer shot after shot as Harvard tried to get back in it. She finished the night with a career-high eight field goals (8-12) and recorded her first collegiate double-double.

"We all came ready to play," said Clemmons, who tallied her fourth consecutive game in double figures. "We worked hard and we were able to come out with the W. We knew this game was going to be about runs but as soon as they started going on a run it was just about keeping our head, staying positive and attacking. We had that confidence to keep going and hit big shots."

"I'm so proud of Janiya," Griffith added on the junior. "The maturity and experience that she's gained and grown into is impressive. She's an impressive human being and a kid I love to coach because she wants it so badly."

First-year Sienna Durr also put together a 20-10 night, going for 22 points and 10 rebounds. She was 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final 34 seconds on her way to a 9-for-9 showing at the stripe.

Riley Casey scored 20 of Columbia's first 38 points, including her team's first 16 points of the second quarter. A triple with 3:47 left in the half accounted for her 20th point of the night and put the Lions ahead, 38-16. She finished the game 7-of-14 from the field, 5-of-10 from three and a perfect 4-for-4 at the foul line.

For Harvard, Nani Redford scored a team-high 13 points off the bench. Madeline Raster (11), Jadyn Bush (11) and Jeannie Boehm (10) all also scored in double figures. Boehm and Bush collected a game-high 13 rebounds apiece.

Harvard took 92 shots, tying the record for shots in an Ivy League game that Columbia set against the Crimson back in 1990, but connected on just 28.3 percent of them. The Crimson also took an Ivy League-record 45 threes but hit just 10 of them to finish the game at 22.2 percent. Columbia was a solid 24-of-27 (.889) at the free throw line to cement away the game.

Columbia will look for its first Ivy League weekend sweep since 2011 when Dartmouth visits Levien Gymnasium on Saturday. Tip is scheduled for 5 p.m.

POST-GAME NOTES

- The win was Columbia's first against Harvard since 2015 and fourth against the Crimson overall since officially joining the Ivy League in 1986-87.

- Riley Casey extended her double-figure scoring streak to eight games. She has scored at least 20 points four times over that span.

- Durr and Casey each recorded their fourth 20-point games of the season. Clemmons' was her first.

- Columbia collected 50 rebounds for the first time since Feb. 4, 2017 at Brown (51)

- Columbia made at least 20 free throws in a game for the first time since Nov. 12, 2017 against Richmond.